National Grid draws up £2bn plan to pipe carbon dioxide into North Sea

Work prospects for engineering construction contractors have received a further boost from plans by National Grid to spend £2bn pumping carbon dioxide from power stations into former North Sea gas fields.

The electricity and gas distribution giant is reported to be planning to set up a new business division dedicated to capturing carbon dioxide from a cluster of power stations around the Humber Estuary in Yorkshire.

The captured gas would then be pumped into former natural gas reservoirs beneath the sea bed.

The engineering construction industry is gearing up for a work bonanza as big power generators advance plans to build 10 nuclear power stations, starting as early as 2013, in a programme worth £40 billion.